Standards & Legislation

INDIA – Coca-Cola has been granted a stay on an order from Northern Indian government officials to close one of its bottling plants amidst local protests that the facility is extracting too much groundwater.

CHINA - Only 94 foreign infant formula brands have been granted approval for sale in China under new regulations. This is a significant drop from the reportedly 800 to 1,000 imported brands previously allowed into the country.

HONG KONG – A joint study by the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) and the Consumer Council to assess how well businesses have followed nutrition label recommendations set out in the Trade Guidelines on Preparation of Legible Food Label issued by the CFS in 2012 have yielded disappointing results.

US – The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to update the Nutrition Facts label found on most food packages in the US, with changes involving new labelling requirements for certain package sizes, updated serving size requirements and a refreshed design.

TAIWAN – All businesses involved in the production, packaging, sale or usage of food additives must be registered with Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from January 2014. The registration of other food industry-related businesses, including food packaging converters, will also be required later this year.